Nice respectable Carmenere from Chile!

bob parsons · Post by **bob parsons** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 11:01 am

TN: `06 Casa Silva Carmenere Gran Reserva Los Lingues, Colchagua V.

Good natural cork, $24 Cdn, 14.5% alc, opened and decanted for an hour. No sediment noted.

Color. Deep rich crimson/purple, just like Harry O`s grape juice! Has a medium intense centre, can just see thumb outline through the glass when tilted.

Nose. Day 1 is instant cherry when I pour to decanter. Some raspberry as it opens and warms (I had slightly chilled). Has some floral tones and tad savoury from the oak. At first I thought nose was closed up, its not that oaky to me however. Developed some herbal notes over 2 hrs but no "green olives/peppers".

Day 2 has a big change. An almost mesquite-smoked aroma with green peppercorns. Some staff found it "exotic..wooden plank". Thought interesting comments.

Palate. Initial entry thoughts were softish tannins, blackberry, excellent acidity, some oak but no vanilla. I did not find too many green tones here at all but on the finish some squeezed out tea bag tannin. There is a hint of sweetness after an hour in the glass, along with some more plum and cherry.
Anastasia thought "not the most supple/easy-to-drink red I have had lately". Definately needs more time to develope some of that blackberry fruit as well as chocolate tone.
On the second day, found loganberries but one person at store thought finish a tad short? Could not agree there.

So analysis over! Very nice Carmenere that is a bit young maybe. I sure would never think merlot here in the glass!

Almaviva · Post by **Almaviva** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 1:46 pm

Carmenere is great, there one I will be trying when my wife gets back from Chile Carmin de Peumo (Concha y Toro) looking forward to it

MilduraBob · Post by **MilduraBob** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 2:09 pm

I have just purchased several bottles of two Colchagua Valley Chilean Carmeneres. One is Arboleda and the other Caliterra. I haven't tried them yet but have been told that they are both quite good, so I am really looking forward to a taste.
What got be going on Carmenere was a wine from Amietta Vineyards near Geelong called 'Angels Share'. Whilst this wine is a blend, 65% Cabernet Sauvignon and 35% Carmenere, the wine did enough for me to convince me to try a straight Carmenere. In my humble opinion the 'Angels Share' is one of the best blends I have tried in years.
My research showed that Chile was the home of this variety and when an acquaintance in Canada told me how much he enjoyed the Carmenere from Chile I got hold of some. I intend to give them some time to settle down in the cellar and will post my impressions when I try them.
Cheers,
MilduraBob.

bob parsons · Post by **bob parsons** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 10:48 pm

These notes from Rogov might be of interest.

http://www.stratsplace.com/cgi-bin/sear ... =&UserID=4

MilduraBob · Post by **MilduraBob** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 1:33 pm

Thanks Bob, very interesting and I will keep them on file.
Cheers
MilduraBob

Almaviva · Post by **Almaviva** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 2:29 pm

bob parsons wrote:These notes from Rogov might be of interest.

Thanks for that link great read.